He's a good man! Guards fans donate to Denver charity to thank Goodman for clincher assist

CHICAGO -- Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman gained a legion of new fans in Cleveland, and children in Colorado are benefitting.

Goodman’s two home runs in Saturday night’s 9-6 victory over the White Sox meant the Guardians clinched the American League Central Division. The White Sox will advance as an AL Wild Card.

The Rockies acknowledged their contribution to the occasion on social media:

"I'm a huge Hunter Goodman fan," Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Saturday. "I always appreciated him prior to tonight, but tonight kind of put him over the edge. So we might send him a thank you note."

Happy Guardians fans reacted with the majority of the some 1,200 reposts and nearly 700 comments by Sunday afternoon. The comments were (largely) full of celebration and gratitude, and they sparked an idea: Could Cleveland fans donate to a charity of Goodman’s choice? Guardians social media personnel connected with their Rockies counterparts.

Goodman and his wife, Sydney, have been putting their charitable efforts toward Clothes to Kids of Denver, which since 2008 has provided school clothing for students ages 3-21 in the 11-county Denver Metro Area. Currently, CTKD provides more than 15,000 wardrobes annually (21-plus pieces of clothing), and has provided nearly 140,000 wardrobes since its inception.

Donations flowed after the good-natured prompting.

Fans -- of the Rockies, Guardians or anyone else interested in helping students receive school clothes -- can donate online, or they may visit the Colorado Rockies Foundation to contribute to its charity efforts. By mid-afternoon on Sunday, fans had donated roughly $2,500 to Clothes to Kids of Denver.

“This idea came in this morning, and I was, like, ‘That’s interesting -- a cool, funny thing and it's a good cause,'” Goodman said. “I never really experienced anything like that. My wife and I went to a banquet that was a charity fundraiser, and the people at Clothes to Kids are awesome, so I’m happy to send the Cleveland fans their way.”